Gov. Chris Christie Accused of Backtracking on Immigration

By Heather Haddon

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, right, speaks at an event in Phoenix on November 22.

Associated Press

New Jersey Democrats and immigrant advocates are accusing Gov. Chris Christie of flip-flopping on legislation allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition after signaling last month that he would support such a bill.

Mr. Christie said Monday night that he still supports helping illegal students pay cheaper college rates at state schools, but doesn’t agree with the version of the DREAM Act moving through the state Senate.

“They’re overreaching and they’re making it unsignable,” Mr. Christie said on his monthly “Ask the Governor” program on NJ 101.5 FM. “That’s simply not acceptable to me.”

Mr. Christie won reelection earlier this month by a landslide, including more than half of the Hispanic vote, according to exit polls. Latino and immigrant advocates have campaigned for the bill for years, and accused Mr. Christie of backtracking on it now that speculation that he might run for president in 2016 has heightened.

“It’s completely backpedalling on the promise he made to voters and that promise is why he got 51% of the vote,” said Karol Ruiz of Wind of the Spirit, a New Jersey immigrant support organization, about the governor’s Hispanic support.

Senate President Steve Sweeney, the most powerful elected Democrat in the state, accused Mr. Christie of putting any national ambitions ahead of state residents.

“The governor never misses an opportunity to disappoint,” Mr. Sweeney said in a statement. “When he was running for governor he supported it now that he is running for president he does not.”

A Christie administration spokesman declined to comment further on the governor’s remarks Monday. Mr. Christie is out of state Tuesday with his family and held no press availability.

On Monday, Mr. Christie said the bill provided more generous benefits than the proposed federal DREAM Act, and could allow undocumented students who attend New Jersey private schools but live outside the state to petition for the cheaper tuition. The Republican governor said he asked the Senate to fix the issues, but they haven’t.

“They have time to change that between now and Jan 14. If they do, I will, if they don’t, I won’t,” Mr. Christie said.

Immigrant advocates disputed that the bill would provide more generous benefits than the federal legislation or it could be abused by out-of-state undocumented students. Democratic Sen. Teresa Ruiz, the bill’s prime sponsors, said the changes would “essentially gut the bill.”

Mr. Sweeney still expects the bill to be passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, a spokesman said.